This question is genuinely asked. Over the last few years various companies have started work on cloud IDEs, with admittedly impressive results in many cases. But personally, I've never been able to really identify a motivation for me to use one. Perhaps this is because I'm not very web-centric in terms of the code I write.
I feel like I must be missing something significant if people are putting a lot of effort in to something, so how do other people feel? Is the cloud IDE approach scratching a real itch, or is it being done because it can be? (My admittedly slightly pejorative initial reaction a few years back).
1) Device independent. If you want to start writing code on your work computer, work on it on your laptop when you get home, and debug it while at your mother-in-law's house, using a cloud IDE makes this much easier than having to sync files and have programs installed on all computers
2) Mobile. If you think of a breakthrough in your code when you only have your smartphone or tablet on you, being able to access it and work on it on devices that may not even support native development could be really useful.